Prototype: What Happens When You Discover You're More Like Jesus Than You Think?

Summary

Jesus is God and we are not. Most of us get that. But what we don't always understand is that God loves us just as much as He does His son. Many times in the Old Testament, God refers to human beings as His beloved. But when God called Jesus "my Beloved," Jesus did something truly remarkable: He believed Him. In Prototype, Jonathan Martin creates a vivid understanding of what it means to be God's beloved. To completely trust, as Jesus did, that God loves us. To live without fear, confident in our identity and purpose. To handle life's wounds as Jesus did, and to wake every day with a deep awareness of God's presence. Martin reveals a startling truth at the heart of the gospel: Jesus is our prototype. And as we discover how the knowledge of being God's beloved changed everything for Jesus - how it set Him free to live out His purpose and love God, others, and the world - it will begin to do the same for us.

Reviews

Every once in a while I am truly surprised by a book. I have read several blog posts by Jonathan Martin (he is not currently blogging). And I generally have agreed with with what I read, especially when he was taking an uncomfortable position. So I was interested in reading his book, but did not really know much about him and assumed it would be another, not too much different from all the rest of Christian living books.

Prototype is different, primarily because of the theologically rich content, with virtually zero theological language, and no dumbing down. A lot of the great books that I read I am uncomfortable recommending to many because the language is too theological or the content is too dense to understand without some major background in theology or philosophy. Or if the book is intentionally trying to reach the masses, it is dumbed down and condescending. Prototype has all of the positives of theologically rich text, with none of the negatives of condescension, dumbing down or complicated theological language.

I don’t want to minimize Martin’s work here, but he manages to include many of the concepts of NT Wright’s Surprised by Hope (Heaven is important, but our faith is about Jesus working on us now, not just preparing us for a future life), Richard Beck’s Slavery of Death (fear is the root of sin and we can be transformed in this life by the power of Jesus to overcome fear), Barbara Brown Taylor’s, (to name one of many, the body as central to both Jesus’ incarnation and our own spiritual transformation), and Brennan Manning (Grace as the central message of the gospel), and I could keep going on.

Martin is not stealing ideas here, he is teaching the essence of spiritual formation by focusing on Jesus as our model. He doesn’t once mention the Cristus Victor or Moral Influence models of the atonement, but that is the root of the book. Jesus’ life here was more than just so he could die for our sins. The Penal Substitution model of the atonement is important, but not the only reason for the incarnation. The rediscovery of the full picture of the atonement that requires more from Jesus than death is essential if we want to have a faith in Christ that is more than a ticket out of hell.

I really can’t think of another more accessible, but theologically rich, book on what the Christian life is all about than this one. Martin exudes care and concern for the reader.

(I am a bit reluctant to include this, but one of the things that people love about George W Bush is that he was someone that people thought they would like to have a beer with. While Gore and Kerry felt like they were simply experts. I follow lot of Christian authors on twitter and while they are experts and have great ideas, I am not sure I really would want to have a beer with them. Jonathan Martin is someone that I think I would really like as a person, and at the same time has clearly read widely, thinks deeply and actually lives life as a real pastor. He also does a great job narrating the audiobook.)

A little slow getting started as he laid the foundation for his argument but once it got going, it was amazing. My favorite chapters: 5 "Wounds," 8 "Community" and 9 "Witness." Easy to read and full of stories that made me think (and helped me see similar situations in my own life). Being a member of Renovatus or part of the Pentecostal tradition is not a prerequisite for "getting" his message. I was raised Lutheran and am now part of a "frozen chosen" Presbyterian church and the message resonated with me just the same.

This book is based around the fact that Jesus is our prototype—that He is our example on how to live and most importantly He is our example on how knowing that we are beloved of God changes the way we do live. Who are you? Is your identity rooted in knowing you are beloved of God?One of the author’s purposes for this book was the hope that we would become “awake to God” (p. 15). He is not dogmatic in exactly what that is supposed to look like either.This book is filled to the brim with stories, lots of stories. The stories contain the most authenticity and genuineness that I’ve seen in a long time. They are “real”. The author puts part of himself into the pages. That was refreshing.The stories contained lots of uplifting examples of God at work in people’s lives. They also frequently brought tears to my eyes or made me laugh out loud. Occasionally the text seemed to wander from the main points by it eventually came back around and pulled it all together.I felt not even a speck of guilt as I read the stories. (You know, like if I wasn’t already doing it like that there must be something lacking in my Christian walk.) No, instead I only felt encouraged—encouraged to be real.If you are hungry for stories of real-life examples on what it looks like to live an authentic life in Christ then this book is for you.To purchase your own copy of this book go here: Prototype: What Happens When You Discover You’re More Like Jesus Than You Think?Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their Tyndale Blog Network program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 225: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”(c) 2013 Cheryl Cope